Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That statement proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his first summons to the senior England squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a true blast from the past, a journey rarely told in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, let alone featuring in the top division and playing for England too,” Scott stated previously.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for myself and my family.”
So how did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has not been a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and play for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he opted to remain on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at home with my friends at the weekend because I missed nearly several years of doing that. Getting that little bit of youth back was a thing I definitely required.
“To gain some self-belief by coming back and playing local football was massive for me. It was probably the most crucial factors that got me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” manager the coach commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his early progress after an promising beginning in men’s football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” said the player. “The first day I joined the youth team, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. From that point a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
Within 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against the Hatters.
He went on to make eighty-three league outings for the club while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he’ll play for England and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Within 90 days after, he signed for the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
Scott endured a challenging first season with the club, having to wait until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“There was a decent run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“That felt like almost another setback and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, forming a strong partnership in the middle with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign just as impressively for his club, featuring in all matches to guide them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” the player said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for football, improving every day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
